Approve Data Center Moratorium on October 22nd
Approve Data Center Moratorium on October 22nd
Protect Grant County from Unplanned Development
Publicly noticed in the Silver City Daily Press on August 27, the Site Layer 1 project is a massive, hyperscale data center proposal with plans for expansion. The initial project site is 8,000 acres (12.5 square miles) with an option for 17,000 acres (26.5 square miles) on the Hurt Cattle Ranch property in southern Grant County, straddling the State Hwy 9 corridor between Hachita and Animas and approximately 2 miles from the Continental Divide Trail. The company is also evaluating 44,000 acres (69 square miles) for future expansion, including on BLM and State lands. Depending upon project development, the Site Layer 1 proposal could expand into Hidalgo and/or Luna counties.
Project developer Granite Renewables presented its plan for the Site Layer 1 data center at the regular meeting of the Grant County Commission on October 8. However, more questions remain than were answered. The public was not allowed to ask questions about the project scope, environmental impacts, and timeline. The company submitted its air quality permit application to the NM Environment Department on October 7 and must provide adequate community engagement before the permit will be deemed administratively complete. This requirement has not been met.
Lack of Transparency
Granite Renewables has been working on this project for 18 months without any publicly available information on its plans. The company delivered a presentation to the Grant County Commission, but the scope of the project and other important details remain vague, such as purpose and scale of project; potential environmental impacts and mitigation measures; and project phasing and timeline.
Inadequate Community Engagement
Granite Renewables’ presentation to the Grant County Commission was unprofessional and does not meet community engagement standards. The presentation was given at a morning meeting that many interested community members were not able to attend given work schedules. The company delivered a PowerPoint on Zoom with audio that could not be heard. The public was not allowed to ask any questions after the presentation. The PowerPoint available on the Grant County website differs from what was presented. Community engagement is not a one-way street and requires opportunities for the public to ask questions to fully understand all aspects of the project and its impacts on the community.
Solar Power Generation is Uncertain
Granite Renewables claims that this project is primarily a solar power generation and battery storage project. However, the company still needs approvals by Tri-State to connect to the power grid. This could take 1 – 2 years, given insufficient transmission line capacity, leaving the 300MW gas-powered data center as the core of the Site Layer 1 project that will produce millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants every year. Experts are unaware of any data center that operates solely on solar energy.
Water Use Is Underreported
The Hachita Basin is small and has essentially zero recharge, particularly during long-term drought. Any significant water pumping could impact the limited aquifer. Use of water during construction is substantial and was not provided. In addition to the initial fill of the closed loop system, uses of water not reported by Granite Renewables include:
- Annual maintenance of the cooling system.
- Periodic flushing and refilling of the cooling system.
- Ongoing dust control
- Cleaning of potential large solar array
Grant County’s moratorium is not only about the Site Layer 1 data center. We must “future proof” our county against future data center or large-scale infrastructure proposals.
The one-year moratorium is a temporary pause to allow the Commission a reasonable time to gather expertise, information and public input in order to evaluate the need for county-level rules to safeguard public health and county resources from data centers.
Establishing guardrails for large-scale developments will ensure that our community is not collateral damage for the AI data center build out.
Support the moratorium and the associated guardrails to planned development.
- Sign the petition in support of the moratorium.
- Email or text your commissioner and encourage them to approve the moratorium ordinance on October 22nd – Contact information for Grant County Commissioners
- Attend the Grant County Commission meeting on October 22nd at 9 am and show your support for the data center moratorium.
